Revocable Living Trust

If you have named The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or one of its institutions as a beneficiary in your will, trust, or other legal instrument please register it here.

One of the most common and flexible ways of providing for your heirs and giving to a charity of your choice is to use a revocable living trust. It is usually created in partnership with a "pour over" will that transfers property into the trust that was not transferred previously. A revocable living trust is a valuable part of your estate plan that avoids probate and yet allows you to revoke or amend its provisions at any time during your life.

A trust is simply a legal entity that can hold and invest property on behalf of beneficiaries. Trusts are administered by a trustee. You may act as your own "self-trustee," or you can choose an individual or corporate trustee to act in your behalf.

The typical donor:

• Wants to complete a gift while keeping assets available during life.
• Has assets beyond those intended for heirs.
• Wants to memorialize a family member.
• Wishes to start a family legacy of giving.
• Owns assets not suitable as a gift to heirs.

Gift features and benefits:

• Asset value removed from estate
• Allows full use of asset during life
• Flexible and revocable
• Can be a specific property or a percentage of your estate
• Can take effect only after children receive assets

How Do I Make a Gift Using a Revocable Living Trust?

The process of making a gift through a revocable living trust helps you focus attention on the future for both you and your loved ones. A revocable living trust is often used in combination with a will, charitable trusts, life insurance trusts, family partnerships, or other planning vehicles.

Revocable living trusts can be very complex and should only be completed with help from your legal and financial advisors. Philanthropies’ staff of professionals will work in partnership with your advisors to achieve your goals. They can provide such information as the correct legal names of Church entities or the best charitable tools to help you reach your objectives. As we work together, you can be assured that bequests made through your revocable living trust will be part of a carefully structured plan to provide security for you and your heirs and to help benefit the Church and its institutions as you desire to do so.

Other Facts You Should Know about a Revocable Living Trust

Ownership of your assets and how title to those assets is held are two of the most important considerations in planning your revocable living trust. Ways in which title to assets may be held include the following:

Sole ownership is a form of ownership in which the entire interest in the property is held by one individual who has the power to transfer the property to another by will or trust.

Tenancy in common is a form of title where two or more owners share an undivided interest in the property. A tenancy in common is the customary form of ownership for friends or family members, but not for spouses who own property together. Upon the death of one cotenant, that cotenant's interest in the property can be transferred by will to his or her heirs. Ownership does not automatically pass to the surviving tenants in common, as is the case with joint tenancy.

Joint tenancy with rights of survivorship is a form of title in which property is automatically transferred to the surviving joint tenants with right of survivorship at the death of another joint tenant. The property cannot be transferred by will or trust.

Tenancy by the entirety is a form of title that exists in a limited number of states as a special form of joint tenancy held only by spouses. Upon the death of one spouse, the property passes automatically to the surviving spouse.

Community property is a form of ownership found in the states of Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. In many community property states, all property acquired during a marriage, except property acquired by gift, inheritance, or with separate funds, is presumed to be community property, with each spouse owning one half of the property. Property acquired prior to a marriage is separately owned by the spouse who acquired the property.